Editing Hot swapping (section)

==Rationale==
Hot swapping is primarily used whenever it is desirable to change the configuration or repair a working system without interrupting its operation.<ref>{{cite conference |title=Present and future of distributed power systems |first1=W.A. |last1=Tabisz |first2=M.M. |last2=Jovanovic |first3=F.C. |last3=Lee |date= 23–27 February 1992 |conference=Seventh Annual Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 1992. APEC '92. Conference Proceedings 1992. |publisher=IEEE |pages=11–12 |isbn=0-7803-0485-3 |doi=10.1109/APEC.1992.228437 |quote=A properly designed parallel configuration allows the on-line replacement (hot-swapping) of defective modules. This provides means for non-interrupting maintenance and repair, a very desirable feature in high-reliability systems operating in a continuous fashion.}}</ref> A typical example of needing to keep a system running at all times is in the case of a [[Server (computer)|server]], a computer that provides access to essential data and applications needed by other computers called [[Client (computing)|clients]]. At other times, hot swapping is implemented simply to avoid the delay and nuisance of shutting down and then restarting a device, such as in the case of charging a smartphone.

Hot swapping is used to add or remove [[computer peripheral|peripheral]]s or components and to replace faulty modules without interrupting equipment operation. For example, a machine may have dual hot-swappable [[power supply|power supplies]], each adequate enough to power the machine on its own. If one of those power supplies breaks and shuts down, the machine will not shut down, as it will draw power from the other, functional power supply. The faulty power supply can be replaced during operation of the machine, eventually bringing the machine back to a state of [[Redundancy (engineering)|redundancy]]. In the context of servers, important [[expansion card|expansion cards]], such as [[disk controller|disk controllers]] or [[host adapter|host adapters]], may be designed with specialized redundancy features in order for these to be replaceable without necessitating interruption of server operation.

Another use case of hot swapping is to enable faster data synchronization between two devices by not having to power down either device before connecting them together. For example, plugging an [[iPhone]] to a [[Mac (computer)|Mac computer]] via a USB cable to synchronize data between them does not require powering down either the iPhone or the Mac and waiting for them to restart.<ref name="Use the Finder to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your Mac">{{cite web |title=Use the Finder to sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with your Mac |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/102471 |website=Apple Support |access-date=7 April 2025}}</ref> For even more convenience, data synchronization can be configured to start automatically without user input. It is also possible to interrupt the data synchronization at any time simply through unplugging the devices, although it's not recommended to do so until instructed to avoid [[data corruption]].